The Legacy
by nevergivein69
Summary: Post-Inheritance: Lealia and Benhail travel to the land of the Riders, only to find that the world they left isn't as safe as they had thought. Summary sucks, story may or may not, counting on your preference.
1. Home

**A/N: Alright, so I couldn't help myself. When I read **_**Inheritance**_**, unlike a great deal of people who read it, I liked the ending. It tied up the loose ends it needed to, while leaving enough open for CP to come back to Alagaesia, and it's not like we weren't warned that Eragon was going to leave. We knew that from the first book. Now, with that said, the story can be continued and this is how I think it will be continued.**

**Disclaimer: I don't anything that CP made.**

Home

Lealia was shaking like a leaf as she sat in the depression between Benhail's shoulders and wings. She was going to the land of the Riders. A land that only the most distinguished men and women could even hope to enter. And Lealia, a daughter of an earl, who still wasn't noble enough to go there, was about to enter the fabled lands. Well, she did have one reason to go there. About a year ago, while visiting Ileria, Lealia had gone with her father to the dragon hatching, which had become a sort of celebration for the people of the city. Her father had pushed her, and even though Lealia was sure no dragon would hatch for her, she walked onto the stage. She walked along behind the other human children, and looked at the line of eggs before her. She walked by a beautiful teal egg, then a royal purple egg, then the starlight-white egg, then the midnight-black egg, until she came to the shining coppery egg that seemed slightly smaller than the others. She stood before this egg longer than the others, feeling somehow drawn to it, and took a step toward it. As she did a sharp snapping noise rent the quiet air.

Lealia felt every person turn toward her and she stopped in her tracks staring at the hairline fracture in the coppery shell before her. She shook herself, but her awe refused to disappear because, even as she watched, another crack appeared in the eggs shell, and then another, and another, until, finally, a beautiful copper-colored dragon landed before her. It shook its head and then looked up at her with big, bright eyes the same color as a low flame. Without thinking about it, Lealia leaned forward and touched the dragon on the snout. With a yelp, Lealia jumped back from the hatchling as she felt something like an ice-cold river rush over her hand.

After the shock of the icy-feeling wore off, a thought went through Lealia's mind. As a memory of her father describing what a Rider told him it felt like to bond with a dragon rushed through her mind, Lealia looked down at her upturned hand. On it was a distinct silvery patch, directly in the center of her palm.

The Rider who had been watching the procession stepped forward. "The dragon has spoken!" he proclaimed to the assembled masses, and gently, but firmly, lifted her arm to show the people. "This youngling has been chosen!" At this the crowd cheered loudly, and Lealia saw her father cheering louder than anyone else, tears of pride streaming down his face.

"Come, young one," the Rider whispered in her ear, "you must leave immediately. One of our Order will take you and your hatchling to the lands of the elves."

"What?" Lealia asked, the shock of what had just happened having not completely warn of for her yet.

"You must leave now," the Rider repeated patiently. "We cannot risk leaving one of the novices alone. One of our Order will take you to Du Weldenvarden."

"But what about my father?" Lealia asked, getting her thoughts in order, somewhat.

The Rider looked at her sympathetically. "We'll tell him where you went," he said, but then saw her eyes. "Don't worry, you'll be able to speak with him when you get to Du Weldenvarden, Queen Arya made sure of that."

Lealia didn't get what he meant, but she could tell from his tone that he was being truthful, so she stepped toward the other Riders, picking up the small coppery dragon as she did. The dragon gave a happy chirp, which bred a warm glow in Lealia's chest.

That was about a year ago, but Lealia still remembered it like it was yesterday because that was the day that Benhail had hatched for her.

_Lealia, _Benhail's low, resonant voice said in her head, _you need to focus. We're going to be meeting our masters in a matter of hours._

_I don't want new masters, _she answered, also in her head. _Ebrithil Arya and Ebrithil Firnen were great masters._

_I know, _Benhail answered. _But you know as well as I that they have never taking full time apprentices. I'm sure our new masters will be just as good, if not better._

_I hope your right, _Lealia said.

Benhail twisted until his great, flame-like eye was looking right at her. _I am, _he said confidently.

Lealia felt his confidence rush through her, and she smiled at it. Leaning forward, she embraced Benhail's head and leaned her forehead against his snout. He hummed slightly, then with a slight jerk of his head, made it apparent that Lealia needed to let him turn his attention back to the sky. She let him and he returned to watching his flight.

As she sat on Benhail's back, Lealia thought back to her time with Arya and Firnen.

Lelalia remembered flying on the back of the large, amethyst-purple dragon with Benhail cradled in her arms, giving small chirps of delight as he flew in the air.

The dwarf Rider chuckled, "Ah, I remember the first time Baara here took her first flight. Riding on dragon back's just not the same, but it's about all that little guy can get, right now." The dwarf's dragon had sent out a puff of smoke as an affirmative.

"What should I name him?" Lealia had asked.

The dwarf had scratched his beard, seeming uncomfortable. "Well, I can't tell you. That's up to you and him, so I'd wait until he can talk."

"Huh?" Lealia had asked, confused.

The dwarf laughed. "Don't worry about it too much, youngling. You'll see." After that Lealia and the dwarf, who went by the name of Termaine, had spoken only of inconsequential things, laughing when the hatchling dragon had started hiccupping little puffs of smoke.

When they finally landed in Ellesmera, the capital of the elves' nation, Termaine had said, "Be safe Lealia, the elves can be a little, uh, unpredictable. Still, have a good time here. I already can't wait to see you in Abr Du Hjarta."

"Where?" Lealia had yelled after him.

_Good-bye, little one, _Lealia had heard a lilting voice say in her head. _We will meet in the homeland._

The hatchling had chirped in her arms, as if answering the voice. The massive purple shape before them roared in reply.

Lealia scratched her head, incredibly confused by the exchange that just went on, and the voice in her head that she only later realized was that of Baara.

"Come, young ones," Lealia heard a sing-song voice say behind her. She jumped, not having heard the speaker approach. Lealia turned around to see a beautiful, raven-haired elf woman standing behind her. She was dressed in a pure white robe, with a cape of red satin behind her. And encircling her head was a golden band.

The elf woman turned around, heading deeper into the forest before her. After a moment's hesitation, Lealia followed, cradling the tiny dragon in her arms. Lealia and the elf walked for a while before Lealia built up the courage to ask, "Ma'am, wh-who exactly are you?"

The elf turned around to look at her, and squatting so they were at eye-level said, "I am Arya, Queen of the elves and Rider of the great dragon Firnen."

"Well, I'm Lealia, daughter of Hurlbert, and Rider of, uh, this dragon," she said in return, lifting the hatchling to Arya's eyes, where it looked at her for a second, then chirped and licked her nose.

Arya smiled, and said, "Well, Lealia, it's a pleasure to meet you. Atra esterni ono thelduin."

Lealia stared at Arya for a moment, having no idea how to answer her. "Uhhh," she said.

Arya laughed, a high, musical sound that made Lealia happy for no apparent reason. "It's okay. You'll learn over time."

"Okay," Lealia answered dazed. As she stood there looking at Arya, she slowly brought the hatchling toward her chest hugging him close. As she did this, she heard a huge thud above her and looked up, searching for its source. All she saw was the green of the trees, until she noticed a part of the trees shimmering. She looked at this part, but just before she could make out its exact shape, it landed behind Arya. It was a massive emerald-green dragon, which was at least twice as big as Baara.

_Hello, young ones, _Lealia heard a deep voice say in her head. _Welcome to our home. Welcome to the Riders. _

Lealia searched for the source of the voice, but then Arya laughed again. "That was Firnen, little one," she said extending her arm toward the massive beast behind her.

"Oh," Lealia said, thinking this was all way too much to deal with in one day.

_Lealia. Lealia Lealia! _Benhail was calling her name.

_What? What? _Lealia asked, coming back from her memories.

_We're here, _Benhail answered, using his mind to direct her attention in front of them.

Lealia's jaw dropped. Before them were five mountains, each glittering with different colors, one blue, another red, another green, and the last two black and white. Hundreds of dragons circled the peaks of the mountains and flitted in and out of caves in the side of the mountains.

_Termaine was right, Benhail, _Lealia thought. _We're home._

Lealia felt Benhail's awe at the mass of glittering shapes before him. _Yes, we're home, _he thought.

**Okay, so that's the first chapter. Hoped you liked it.**


	2. Abr Du Hjarta

**A/N: So, here's chapter two. I really have nothing else to say, so thanks for the review.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Well, actually, I own the stuff that I made up. Well, I don't really own them, seeing as it's not copyrighted. You know what, let's just go with I don't own CP's stuff.**

Abr Du Hjarta

Lealia continued to stare at the strange mountains as they Benhail approached the home of the Riders. Every once and a while, a young, curious dragon would fly up to Benhail and sniff around him. Benhail would often sniff the dragons in return, curious of his own race, seeing as they had met no more than a dozen dragons during their time in Du Weldenvarden.

_It's amazing, _Lealia thought, looking at the glittering mountains before them.

_Yes, _Benhail answered, looking from one of the flying dragons to another. _The elves made it sound as if the dragons were few, but there must be thousands here._

_Oh, _Lealia thought, blushing. _Yeah, that's what I was thinking, too._

_Uhhhh, _Benhail answered, obviously not hearing her, as a beautiful, silver-scaled female dragon flew past them.

Lealia playfully smacked Benhail on the back. _Keep your eyes on the sky, not the girls, _she told him teasingly. Benhail snorted a cloud of smoke in answer.

He then flew forward, flapping quicker, obviously eager to reach the land of his kin. Even flying as quickly as he could, Benhail didn't reach the nearest mountain, the glittering blue one, for another ten minutes. Benhail tilted his wings, turning until he was parallel with the face of the mountain, and stared to fly toward the cleft between it and the green mountain. Lealia looked at the mountain before her, seeing as Benhail had turned so she was facing it, and was surprised by what she saw.

The mountain was not, in fact, solid blue stone, as Lealia had thought, but looked to be made of the same types of stone that the mountains of the Spine around her home were made of. What gave it the blue coloring was a myriad of blue gemstones, some looked to be sapphires, others diamonds, and still others aquamarines. All of the different stones reflected the light of the sun, giving it a blue tint, and colored the normal stones around them blue.

Lealia stared at the mountains face for a moment longer, but then looked at the green mountain, caught up with curiosity. Saying a short spell Master Arya had taught her to sharpen her eyesight, she looked at the green mountain. Just as she had thought, that mountain was also colored in gemstones, which reflected the sunlight to give it its strange coloring. Lealia guessed that the other mountains were likewise pockmarked with gemstones, but a question then came to her mind: _Why?_

_Lealia,_ Benhail said, pulling her from her thoughts, _use that spell Arya taught you. I'm about to pass through the cleft. _

_Okay, _Lealia answered, and then delved into the nodule of energy in her being. She brought up the memory of the spell that Arya had taught her, along with many others, and again wondered why it was so important. "Eka ai fricai un Shur'tugal!"

The energy the spell used was nigh on imperceptible, but its effect was obvious. Just as Benhail turned into the cleft, Lealia saw the air before them shimmer, and a space of light open up from one mountain to the other. Benhail passed through the light without incident, which relieved Lealia, but also brought about a feeling of curiosity in her.

She turned around to look at the light, only to see that it was shrinking before her eyes. Within a few seconds, the light had completely disappeared, not even a sliver left to indicate that it had ever been there.

_What was that about? _Lealia asked Benhail as she turned back around.

_I have no idea, _Benhail answered, sounding worried,_ but whatever it was, I'm pretty sure we should always remember to use that spell whenever we go in between those mountains. 'Cause I don't want to learn what it does through experience._

Lealia nodded, looking back at the cleft again, only to see a Rider-less dragon pass through the cleft completely unharmed. _Maybe it's just for show, _Lealia thought hopefully.

_Maybe, _Benhail thought back, though he sounded far from convinced.

Lealia finally looked below her, and jumped in the saddle so hard that she was sure she would have fallen out if she wasn't strapped in. Below them was a city unlike any she had ever seen, in real-life or in pictures. Each building was made of a beautiful, pure-white stone, though a number of the buildings glimmered as if they were imbedded with gemstones like the mountains behind her.

All of the buildings were of a size the likes of which she had never seen before. The smallest she could make out was at least three times as large as Tialdari Hall, and the largest was so massive, she guessed that it would rival the dwarfs' city-mountain, Tronjheim.

Lealia and Benhail stared at the city below them as Benhail slowly glided. After what felt like forever, but also no time at all, Benhail asked in a dazed voice, _Where should I land?_

Lealia shook herself in an attempt to clear her head, and though it took a few tries, she finally succeeded. Saying the spell to sharpen her vision again, Lealia looked around for a suitable place to land, and though she found many, she remembered Master Arya's instructions.

"Find the clearing filled with many dragons," Arya had said, and so Lealia looked for such a clearing. She saw many clearings with a fair number of dragons in them, until, under the shadow of the great, white mountain, she saw a clearing with nearly a hundred dragons crowded within it. At the very bottom of the mountain was a dragon far larger than any of the other dragons around it, though Lealia couldn't make out the color of the dragon's scales.

_There, _Lealia told Benhail, sending him a mental picture of the clearing. Benhail directed his flight toward the clearing, and slowly flew toward it. As he did, Lealia never took her eyes off the massive dragon at the base of the mountain. As they came nearer and nearer to the clearing, Lealia became more and more awed by the massive creature lying there.

The dragon was bigger than any other she had ever seen, even Firnen, and the scales of the dragon were the most beautiful shade of blue, which Lealia could tell, even in the dark shadow of the great mountain. When they were within five hundred feet of the clearing, Lealia learned the final, and most important, thing about the great dragon. It was a she. With her magically augmented sight, Lealia could see the graceful curve of her fangs and spikes. She could see the elegant shape of her scales, and could even make out the beautiful, gemstone blue of her iris.

_She-she's beautiful, _Lealia thought, sure that this was the single most beautiful dragon she had ever seen, and she had, in the last moments and during her year in Ellesmera, seen a number of beautiful, female dragons.

_What are you going on about, Lealia? _Benhail asked, his attention having been fixed on his flying.

Lealia said, _Her, _and used her mind to direct Benhail's attention to the dragoness she was looking at.

Benhail studied her, and studied her, and studied her more, his awe growing with every second that passed. His focus was so riveted on the dragoness before him that he would've crashed into the ground if Lealia had screamed, with both her mind and voice, "_Benhail! Watch out!_"

He looked at the ground rushing toward them, and brought his wings up quickly. That act slowed their descent a great deal, but not quite enough. Benhail slammed into the ground, most of his weight on his forelegs, causing him to flip forward and land on his back.

_Oh, damn! _Benhail yelled toppled toward the ground backwards, Lealia still on his back.

"Dammit!" Lealia screamed, quickly drawing her dagger and slashing through the straps around her legs. She quickly got her legs under her and dove to the side of Benhail, and not a moment too soon. Benhail landed with a massive, earth-shaking thud, and roared, less in pain and more in surprise as the spikes along his back easily dug into the ground below him, locking him in place. Lealia, sadly also became stuck, because, thought she had escaped being crushed by Benhail's body, his outstretched wing had caught her and brought her to the ground. She was now stuck under her dragon's wing, covered in bruises from her impact with the hard ground.

_Benhail, _she thought, _lift your damn wing._

_I can't,_ he thought, sounding embarrassed. _My wing joints are stuck beneath me and I can't move them._

_Well, that's just great isn't it, _Lealia thought, embarrassment at their predicament obvious in her voice.

"Risa!" a strong, deep voice commanded.

Benhail yelped as his body lifted off the ground and into the air. "Moi!" the voice command again, and Benhail turned in the air until his feet were, once again facing the earth.

"You may want to start flapping," the voice said, and once Benhail had, it said. "Letta!"

Benhail slowly started to rise, then slowed his flapping so he lightly landed on the ground.

Lealia shook her head, wondering what had just happened.

"You know," the voice said, "I've seen lots of young dragons and Riders arrive here, but few have arrived so, uh, _memorably_."

Lealia turned toward where the voice was coming from, and found that it was from the direction of the massive dragoness. For a fleeting moment, she thought the dragon had spoken, until she saw the man sitting on her massive foreleg.

With her head augmented vision, Lealia could make out every detail of the man, and he was just as striking as the dragon that he sat upon. His hair was longish, and he had a short beard, which struck Lealia even more because of the elfin cast to the rest of his facial features. His eyes were slanted, and his face angled, like an elf's, but slightly less so than other elves. The beard was completely out of place for this reason, because in all of the time Lealia had spent in Du Weldenvarden, she had never seen a single elf with facial hair.

She forced herself to look away from his face and saw that he also had broad shoulders, far broader than those of any elf. She saw that he was cradling a small, snow-white dragon in his muscular arms. Lealia stared at his arms for a moment more than shook her head, and looked up at the man's handsome face, blushing slightly. "Thank you," she said.

He smiled at her for a moment, and then looked at the dragons gathered around him. "Ganga!" he said. The dragons looked up, their gazes questioning. "Ganga!" he repeated. "Eka vanta medh du skulblaka un Shur'tugal!"

The questioning gazes of the dragons disappeared, and each dragon stood and began to walk from the clearing.

_Incredible, _Lealia thought, completely in awe of the man. She had never seen a dragon so willing listen to anyone, not even Arya. The fact that most of these were likely wild dragons only increased Lealia's awe, because she had never once seen them listen to Arya unless it somehow served their purposes.

As the dragons passed Benhail, many of them lightly pushed him with their shoulders, laughing their deep, rumbling laughs. Benhail looked at the ground embarrassedly, but the dragons laughs seemed more good natured than anything.

The man looked at the dragon in his arms, and quietly said, "Ganga, skulblaka, ganga," and then gently tossed the dragon into the air. It flapped its wings clumsily, until it reached the nearest dragon and alighted upon its back. It then turned back then and chirped toward the man, waving its tail happily. The man chuckled and waved to the small dragon, which gave one last chirp, and then curled up on the back of the older dragon, which hummed contently.

The man chuckled again, and then turned toward Lealia and Benhail. "Welcome, young ones, it is good to see that you have made it to your new home," he said, smiling at them genially.

"Th-thank you, sir," Lealia said, intimidated by this man, even though he was being extremely kind to them. "But who exactly are you?"

The man chuckled and opened his mouth to answer when a powerful, alien consciousness pressed against Lealia's mind. She became frightened for a moment, and attempted to keep out the mind, though it didn't seem to be trying to force its way into her mind, when the man said, "It seems that Saphira here wants to speak with you." He patted the leg of the massive dragon he was sitting upon, whose massive sapphire eye was locked on Lealia.

Hesitantly, Lealia lowered her defenses and felt a powerful, ancient consciousness entire her mind, _I, little one,_ the dragoness said, with a beautiful, lilting voice, _am Saphira Bjartskular and this, _she continued, indicating the man with a flick of her mind, _is Eragon Shadeslayer, my Rider. And we are the current leaders of the Dragon Riders._

**Okay, that ends chapter two, hope all of you enjoyed it. **


	3. Apprentices

**A/N: So I, once again, have very little to say here. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, and now onto the story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the **_**Inheritance Cycle**_**. Only CP does, though I'm pretty sure Chuck Norris has a foot in there somewhere.**

Apprentices

Lealia glanced at Benhail as they walked behind Eragon and Saphira toward the white city before them. He had been staring at Saphira in shock the entire way, and every time Lealia touched his mind, it was filled with so many powerful emotions that she was forced to immediately pull away.

Lealia had thought that he was just shocked by the simple presence of a dragon such as Saphira, because she gave off an aura of fierceness unlike any other dragon Lealia had ever seen. Her form was graceful and elegant, but it was also far fiercer and much more frightening than any of the large male and female dragons Lealia had met. In many ways, Lealia thought Saphira seemed like the sword at Eragon's waist, elegant, but also far more deadly than any war hammer or battle-axe. Still, this thought wore off when Benhail's shock only continued to increase.

Lealia felt Benhail's mind once more, and the emotions in it were so powerful, she could no longer just leave him like that. She walked up to Eragon and asked, "Sir?"

He looked down at her, surprise and curiosity apparent in his gaze. "Yes, young one," he said. "What do you need?"

"It-it's Benhail," she said, hesitantly, looking back at her oblivious dragon. "Something's wrong with him, and I-I don't know how to help."

Eragon looked back at the young dragon, concern and confusion in his expression. "May I inspect his mind?" he asked, directing his question at Lealia, while keeping his gaze on Benhail.

Lealia nodded vigorously. "Yes," she said. "Please." Eragon inclined his head to her, and then closed his eyes in concentration.

He stayed that way for a few seconds, his brow creasing with some enigmatic emotion. He soon opened his eyes and looked at Saphira. She returned his gaze, and something seemed to pass between the Rider and dragon.

He then looked at Lealia, and, with the mysterious emotion still obvious in his expression, said, "We will talk about this later, but for now go speak with Benhail, that will be the best thing you can do for him."

"I've tried, but he won't answer, he doesn't even seem to be able to notice me," Lealia said, desperation coloring her voice.

Eragon gave her a small smile. "Then use the ancient language, young one. That will get through to him."

"Are you sure?" she asked, looking at Eragon hopefully.

He chuckled. "Yes," he answered. "And maybe you could help him to clear his head a little, that way."

Lealia nodded and jogged back to Benhail again. "Benhail, open your ears!" she said, in the ancient language, augmenting the words with energy.

Benhail shook his head as if a fly were annoying him, but didn't look at Lealia. She pushed on anyway. "Benhail, listen to me!" she continued, still in the ancient language, and still using energy to empower the words.

Benhail looked at her this time, snorting in annoyance. _What is it, Lealia? _He snapped.

Lealia answered verbally, still in the ancient language. "What is wrong with you, Benhail?" she asked. "Your mind is as tumultuous as the stormy seas."

Benhail snorted again. _Nothing is wrong, _he answered, though it was an obvious lie. _Now don't speak in that language, there is no reason to use it. _

"I will use it as I see fit," Lealia retorted in the ancient language, becoming slightly annoyed by Benhail's rudeness. "And something is obviously wrong, so just tell me!"

_Nothing is wrong! _he said, with a growl. _So, leave it be!_

"I won't leave it until you tell me what is troubling you!" she returned forcefully, smiling inwardly as she saw his tumultuous emotions being replaced by his sole anger.

_Nothing is troubling me! _he roared, mentally. _My mind is as clear as a still lake!_

Lealia actually smiled, then. "Well," she said, in her native language this time, "it is now. That is, if you can count anger as clear."

Incredulity flashed through Benhail's mind as he noticed what she had done. His anger came back, stronger than before, making Lealia fear she had pushed him too hard, but then disappeared and was replaced by amusement.

_Fine, _he said, his voice even again, _you got me, but I don't want to talk about it right now, okay? _he asked, his voice becoming serious.

Lealia was about to protest, but then saw the pleading in Benhail's eyes and answered, "Fine, but this conversation is _not _over."

Benhail chuckled. _Fine, as long as it doesn't get out of hand, _he answered.

Lealia agreed, and then she and Benhail strode toward Saphira and Eragon.

Eragon turned around and smiled at the pair. "I see you got him out of his stupor!" he said, happily. "Well done!" Saphira snorted a cloud of smoke in agreement.

"Yeah, he's always been a hot-head, so I had a pretty good idea of how to get him back to normal," she said, smiling at leader of the Riders.

Benhail snorted embarrassedly. _I'm sorry, sir and ma'am,_ he said, directing his words to Saphira and Eragon, _it's just a great deal to take in at once._

_ We understand, little one, _Saphira said, her voice sounding gentler than normal. _You have been given a great shock today. _

"All of us have," Lealia heard Eragon mutter, and she realized that these three knew something she didn't.

"What are you all talking about?" she asked, annoyed that she was being kept out of the loop.

Eragon looked at her, smiling apologetically. "We'll tell you later, Lealia," he said, "but now isn't the time. We really just can't afford to have you losing focus right now, seeing as you're about to meet your peers."

"What does that mean?" she asked, the comment catching her completely by surprise.

"Oh my," Eragon said, looking slightly embarrassed, "we forgot to tell you, didn't we?"

_Tell us what? _Benhail asked, sharing in Lealia's confusion.

_Your new teachers have been chosen. The Council convenes once a year to decide who will be the apprentices' teachers, and they decided this year's batch of teachers a fortnight ago, _Saphira said.

"Okay, so who are our teachers?" Lealia asked, not really caring about the whole process of how they chose the teachers.

Eragon looked back at her like she was crazy. "Well, us of course," he said, indicating himself and Saphira. "You don't think we have the time to greet every apprentice Rider when they first show up, do you?"

Lealia's mouth had fallen open, and Benhail shared her shock. "Y-y-you?" she asked, thunderstruck. "You work as teachers?"

_Of course, _Saphira answered, sounding slightly offended. _You don't think we just spend our time twiddling our thumbs do you? No! _she exclaimed. _We do our part to make sure the Riders are well taught, and well prepared for what they must compete against._

_ We're sorry Ebrithil, _Benhail said, quickly. _It's just that, you two being the leaders of the Riders, it doesn't seem like you would have time to teach novices, such as ourselves._

"I understand your logic," Eragon answered this time, "but we have had a century to perfect the balance of our responsibilities, and, if I am not being too bold, I would say we do a very good job of it."

A few seconds passed in silence, as those words sunk in, and then Lealia said, "Forgive us for being presumptuous, Masters."

"We shall," Eragon said, then paused for a moment before adding. "Now ask what you will, young one. We will not hold it against you."

Lealia hesitated a moment, not completely sure if that was true, but then asked, "You said we had peers?"

"Aye," Eragon answered, looking at her again.

"Does that mean all of the apprentices, or are you teaching multiple Riders at once?" she finished.

"As a matter of fact, Saphira and I are teaching four Riders, including yourself, one being from each of the races," he paused for a moment as a bird flew past them. "We do this to keep linked with all of factions of the Order, because it is inevitable that the different races would form walls between themselves."

Lealia nodded, but then asked, "Are they all from the same year as us?"

He grinned at her. "No," he answered. "The last human I taught finished his training last year, but he was the only one. All of you peers will be farther along in their training than you."

"That doesn't seem very fair," Lealia complained.

Eragon shrugged. "Maybe, but really, there's no other way around it, dragons are picky, and not all of the eggs hatch every year. In fact, most take years at a time to hatch," he said, and his gaze flicked unconsciously to Benhail.

Lealia frowned. "So when are we going to meet our fellows?" she asked.

A roar cut the air, followed by another, and another. Lealia looked up to see three dragons rushing toward them. "Well, apparently, right about now," Eragon said, smiling at the dragon and Rider behind him.

**Okay, that ends chapter three, next chapter, we meet Lealia's fellow apprentices, and we find out the big secret between Eragon, Saphira, and Benhail. See if you guys can guess it! Okay, so hope you enjoyed it.**


	4. Friends and Family

**A/N: Okay, so sorry for the delay, I've had a great deal of homework and other activities which have just been beating me down, so I haven't had it in me to update. Anyway, here's the next chapter, and thanks for all the reviews. Also, I forgot this on my other story but, have a merry Christmas, a happy Hanukah, and a quality Kwanzaa. So, on to the story!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from the **_**Inheritance Cycle**_**, sad as that is, well for me at least.**

Friends and Family

The ground shook as the three large dragons landed before Lealia and Benhail. They all stood a fair bit taller than Benhail, and they looked at the pair with large, wise eyes. The center most dragon, a large, beautiful creature with shining, sky-blue scales stepped toward Benhail and, after sniffing him for a short time, snorted disdainfully and backed toward her companions.

"Really, are you guys going to make us sit up here all day?" Lealia heard a high voice exclaim from the right most dragon, an exceptionally tall, creature with sparkling, harvest-gold scales. The dragon looked behind himself and snorted. "I don't care how you want to look for the new recruit! My backs starting to hurt and your neck isn't exactly the most interesting sight so let me the hell off!"

The dragons looked at each other and shifted embarrassedly. "Well, you might as well do it now, or he'll never shut up," a proud voice that reminded Lealia of rustling leaves said from the back of the aquamarine dragon.

"He's right," a soft, quiet voice said from the left most dragon, whose shape seemed strangely graceful, seeing as the dragon was obviously male. He also had steel-gray scales that seemed more to be more like a metal than a gemstone, as Lealia was used to dragon's scales being, "I really would prefer Delmon didn't have something to complain about…again."

"Yeah, so let me freaking off!" the voice yelled again.

The dragons shared glances and then lowered themselves to the ground, so their Riders could jump to the ground. What Lealia saw both shocked her and confirmed what she had thought when she had first been told about her peers, they were going to be strange.

The first thing that shocked her was that, from the back of the exceptionally tall dragon, dropped a young dwarf who couldn't have been more than two feet tall. He was broad shouldered and had a handsome face, but he wouldn't have even reached Lealia's waist, amd she was still slightly under five feet tall. She glanced at Eragon to see him suppressing a smile. He turned to her and said, "Delmon can be a bit, uh, temperamental, but Arioch keeps him in check for the most part, but I have a feeling you'll get along with your new peers. They're a pretty, well, diverse group."

Lealia turned toward the group again only to see that they had come upon her, she took a step back from the massive towering form before her and tripped.

"Are you okay?" the soft voice said again, and she saw large, grey hand offered before her.

She hesitated for a moment, but then took the massive hand, saying, "Yeah, I'm okay, you just surprised me."

She looked up at the seven-foot tall tower of flesh before her, until she reached the kind, yellow eyes set in its rough face. "I'm sorry," the Urgal said with a voice that seemed out of place coming from such a massive being, "we were just excited to meet you."

"Yes," Lealia heard the high voice say. She looked down to see Delmon standing before her, flexing his short, strong arms. "We were _very _excited to meet you," he said with a wink.

Lealia giggled at the small dwarf's quick change of nature and offered him her hand. "I'm Lealia and this is my dragon Benhail," she said motioning to Benhail who nodded in their direction, then continued to stare down the dragons that stood away from the group. "And you must be Delmon and...?"

The Urgal looked down. "I'm sorry, that was rude of me. I'm Shafeeq, and that is my dragon, Elhanan," he said motioning at the steel-scaled dragon who also acknowledged Lealia before turning his attention back to Benhail.

Delmon attempted to push Shafeeq away, but ended up pushing himself back and falling on his back. He quickly stood up, and quickly said, "You're right. I am Delmon, and that is my dragon, Arioch," he said, motioning to the harvest-gold dragon, who also acknowledged Lealia before studying Benhail, just as Elhanan and the aquamarine-dragon were.

"And I," the proud voice said again, causing Delmon and Shafeeq to stiffen and move out of Lealia's line of sight revealing a thin elf with hair like starlight and eyes filled with pride, "am Faustus, and that," he said motioning to the beautiful, aquamarine dragon, "is my dragon, Zipporah." She looked at the congregation and nodded to Lealia, before studying Benhail with her piercing eyes.

Faustus walked up to Lealia and offered her his hand, though he seemed somewhat reluctant to. "It is…nice…to meet you," he said. She stared at the hand before her for a moment and could feel the tension from Shafeeq and Delmon as the seconds past.

After a short while, Lealia took Faustus' hand, and said, "Yes, it's nice to meet you, too."

They only shook for a moment before the two dropped their hands and stepped away from each other, staring at each other just as the dragons did.

The moments past in silence as Faustus and Lealia stood there, until a strong hand clapped the two on their shoulders, causing them both to start. They looked up to see Eragon standing over them, smiling down at the two. "Now that you've all greeted Lealia so warmly, how about we go have tea. If I remember correctly Termaine has been eagerly awaiting your arrival here Lealia, and I think he will be happy to join us for a short cup of tea."

Lealia nodded her head and began to five Riders began to move toward the center of the city, the dragons following behind. Lealia could feel Benhail's apprehension at dealing with the three larger dragons, and while she felt comfortable with Shafeeq and Delmon, something about Faustus made her feel similarly.

Lealia sat at the table with Eragon. Shafeeq, Delmon, Faustus, and Termaine had all left some time ago, but Lealia had remained, remembering that Eragon, Saphira, and Benhail had something to explain to her.

She sipped silently from her cup of tea and kept quickly flitting her gaze to Eragon and then looking away, afraid to brooch the subject now that it was the time to. She heard him sigh. "Come now, youngling," he said, "do not be afraid to speak your mind. Ask the question that you want."

Lealia blushed, and then set down her cup. "Yes, Master," she said, then paused, collecting her thoughts. "What is it that lies between you, Saphira, and Benhail?"

Eragon leaned back, forming his fingers into a pyramid before him, and then, with the pair of dragons' eyes on him. "There is a great deal that lies between Saphira and Benhail, and by extension you and myself," he said, measuring his words. "Do you know of Benhail's ancestory?" Eragon asked slowly.

"A little," Lealia said, remembering what Benhail had said he had learned of his lineage from Firnen. "I know that Firnen was his father, and a number of the ancestors from Firnen, but nothing else."

"You have no idea who Benhail's mother is?" Eragon asked.

Lealia shook her head. "Neither of us do," she said.

Eragon nodded slowly. "Then that makes my job all the harder, but I will first explain how being a parent for a dragon is."

"Why?" Lealia asked, confused. "This doesn't seem important? Why are we even talking about dragon parenting styles?"

Eragon smiled slightly. "Because a great deal needs to be said of it, before I explain who Benhail is," Eragon said, dumbfounding Lealia. "Now, dragons value their children even more highly than elves, and to give up an egg for the Riders is one of the hardest things a dragoness can do, for dragons are born with the instinct to keep their children extremely close and to protect them with their lives. In the First Riders' Order, they could do this for the most part, but now, most mothers who give up their eggs to the Riders must wait for their children to arrive for a whole year." Eragon paused then, but Lealia still didn't understand what Eragon was getting at.

"This wait, for it can usually be many years before the eggs actually find an appropriate Rider, means that the mothers are in constant states of fear and grief, for their children are away from them, but this is nothing as to how the hatchling feels.

"The hatchling needs constant care, and without their mother, they become dependent on their Rider, at least for a time, and when they finally meet their mother, they tend to resent them, and it takes decades for the two to reconcile their problems."

"I still don't see why that is important to what is between Saphira and Benhail," Lealia said.

Eragon sighed. "Haven't you guessed?" he asked. Lealia shook her head, still extremely confused. "Saphira is Benhail's mother. The reason I told you all of this before is because Benhail and Saphira are going to have to reconcile their differences, and quickly so that we can train the both of you," Eragon leaned forward then and whispered so quietly so that only Lealia could hear. "Look at them," and Lealia did, she looked at Benhail and Saphira. "They refuse to be near each other. They refuse to speak. They even refuse to acknowledge each other."

Lealia studied the two dragons and saw that Eragon was right. There was noticeable distance between Benhail and Saphira, and they kept their eyes away from the other, as if they feared death if they so much as glanced at each other. Lealia reached out her mind to the two dragons, and found their minds guarded by mental barriers as strong as iron, as if they feared the other would attack them at any time, and she remembered how the two hadn't spoken a single word to each other since they had met the other apprentices.

Lealia looked at Eragon again. "What should we do?" she asked. "What_ can_ we do?"

Eragon looked at her as well. "We can console them, we can talk to them, and we can make them work their problems out together."

"Do you really think we can do that?" Lealia asked, unconvinced.

Eragon shrugged. "I don't know, but I hope so because I would rather you not have to find a new teacher, for those are our possibilities, have the two work out their problems or find a new master for you and let the pair work their problems out over time."

**Alright, so that's chapter four hoped you enjoyed it, 'cause I don't know how good it was.**


	5. Reconciliations

**A/N: Alright, so sorry for the extremely long wait, I had finals to worry about the last week, I've felt like crap for a couple weeks, and what with the fact that Christmas was a few days ago, I had that to worry about too. For those reasons, I'm just going to thank you for the reviews and start the chapter. Oh, and Firnen is Benhail's father. I had that in the last chapter, but it was very short, because Lealia and Benhail had a great deal of time to reconcile themselves with the knowledge, so I didn't make a big deal out of it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the **_**Inheritance Cycle**_**, the lawyers made that pretty freaking clear.**

Reconciliations

Lealia was starting to lose hope. She had been trying to convince Benhail to talk with Saphira for a week now, but he still refused, even pushing her out of his mind when she kept talking about it.

She knew Eragon was having the same problem because every night they would meet for tea to talk about strategies to convince the two dragons to speak. So far, they had come up with nothing to get the two to speak. They had considered bribes, though they had trouble thinking of anything a dragon could possibly want, tricks, traps, forcing them together, getting them drunk, which was solely Eragon's idea, and even using a dragon that could send messages between the two. Not a single technique had worked. Last time the two had spoken, they had failed to come up with a single plan of action. Eragon had sighed and said, "I fear that we will soon have to give up this attempt. We can't waste any more time with your training and we have made no progress. If they had spoken even a word to one another, then I would be willing to continue for a while longer, but at this point, we are simple wasting valuable time."

"Are you saying we should just give up?" Lealia had asked, her heart sinking.

Eragon had shaken his head and said, "No, but tomorrow is our last chance. If Saphira and Benhail have not spoken by day's end, I will be forced to speak with the other Elders about finding you a new Master."

"Maybe we could continue training, while Benhail and Saphira work out their problems at their own pace," Lealia had offered desperately.

Eragon had shaken his head sadly. "No," he had stated simply. "You and Benhail both need training, and I would know his progress and you must both learn as one. That is how Riders have always been taught, and no exceptions can be made."

"Couldn't a different dragon teach," Lealia had reasoned, though she was sure it was futile. "Maybe a wild dragon could teach him."

Eragon had once again shaken his head. "No," he had once again said. "No wild dragon will teach a bonded one, and I will not ask it of them. He must have another bonded dragon be his Master, and that will only be the dragon of your own Master."

Lealia had looked down. Over the week, her conversations with Eragon had been nice, she had come to truly enjoy his company, and Delmon and Shafeeq had quickly become her friends, though Faustus spoke to her very little and usually with disdain when he choice to say anything to her. Still, she didn't want to have to find a new Master, and possibly have to meet new apprentices. She liked her peers, and she knew that none of the other Riders here would be as good of teachers as Eragon.

So she had looked at him, and said, "I guess we'll just have to figure something out."

He had smiled. "Yes," he had said, "I suppose we will."

Now Lealia was sitting a short distance from Benhail, who was curled up with his head resting on his paws. She looked at him, fuming that nothing she had tried today had worked to get him to at least stand up or even move his head. She had asked Arioch, Elhanan, and Zipporah if they would speak to Benhail and attempt to convince to talk with Saphira. Arioch and Elhanan had agreed, but Zipporah had refused, saying with a mental voice sweeter than honey, _This is a family matter. Benhail must find his own peace and none of us can help him in this. _She had then looked at Lealia with sympathy in her eyes, continuing, _You must convince him, Lealia. He will only listen to those who he has true loyalty for, and no one in Abr Du Hjarta has his loyalty except you. _She had then touched Lealia's brow with her snout, finishing, _I_ _wish you luck…I would hate to see you and Benhail lose the chance to have teachers such as Master Eragon and Master Saphira._

Zipporah had then spread her delicately shaped wings and taken flight. Lealia had wondered at the ordeal, surprised by Zipporah's kindness, seeing as she had gotten little but contempt from her Rider. She had then walked over to Arioch and Elhanan, who stood before Benhail, and saw a very strange sight.

Arioch and Elhanan both had their hackles raised, showing their frightening fangs, and eyes staring at Benhail with surprising anger. Benhail, in return, stared back at the two with empty, unimpressed eyes, and smoke curling lazily out of his nostrils. Finally Arioch and Elhanan's necks twitched and they looked away from Benhail at Lealia. She felt their minds brush against hers and she opened her mind to hear their words.

_Brazul! _Arioch cursed, in his rolling baritone. _If he wasn't so infuriating, I'd be quite impressed right now!_

_ What are you talking about? _Lealia asked Arioch, surprised by his irritation, seeing as he had one of the calmest minds she had ever felt only moments before.

_The moment we began to speak with Benhail of Master Saphira, he immediately forced us out of his mind, _Elhanan continued, his usually light-hearted tone, replaced with one of worry. _We both tried to find a way in, but his mind was as smooth as glass._ Elhanan looked back at Benhail with admiration. _If I were completely truthful, I'd have to admit that I've never seen anything like it. Not even Saphira or Eragon have mental armor like his, I couldn't find a single weak point, it was if someone else had created the armor. _

Lealia blinked, surprised. She had known Benhail was skilled at protecting his mind, but she had thought it had been mainly because he was a dragon. She had thought all dragons had mental armor like his; she looked past Arioch and Elhanan at Benhail, feeling new pride that he had chosen her for his Rider. He refused to look at her. _Well, seeing as _he_, _Lealia told Elhanan, motioning toward Benhail, _won't thank you for the complement, I suppose I have to._

Elhanan inclined his head, but Arioch gave a short snort of impatience. _Well, that's all well and good, _he said, annoyance coloring his thoughts, _but because of his skill, we can't make him listen. He was able to keep _both _of us out of his thoughts, no small feat, so no one but an Elder could possibly enter his thoughts now. _He sighed, his anger melting as he looked at Lealia with his large, hazel eyes that were filled with sadness. _I just don't think he can be convinced Lealia, _he said quietly, _I'm sorry. _He then touched her forehead comfortingly and walked off.

_I'm sorry as well, Lealia, _Elhanan said, then tasseled her hair with a soft puff of warm air before following Arioch.

After this, Lealia had dropped to her knees and sobbed in desperation. She had stayed that way until inspiration hit her again. She ran off, asking Riders and dragons alike where her quarry lay. Finally, she found the mass of purple scales she had been looking for, along with the small figure at the dragoness' shoulders she had hoped would be there.

"Termaine!" she yelled. The dwarf turned to look at her, and a smile broke across his bearded face.

"Lealia!" he exclaimed, nimbly jumping down from Baara's shoulders to meet her. "What brings you here?" he asked. "And where's Benhail?"

Lealia's mood soured. "Well, Benhail's actually the reason I came here," she said, before hesitating, wondering if she should get Termaine involved or not. Finally, looking at Termaine's kind face, she continued. She explained how she had been trying for a week to get Benhail to speak with Saphira, but it had come to not, and of what had just occurred between Benhail, Arioch, and Elhanan, and, finally, she made her request. "Could you and Baara possibly speak with Benhail? He can't possibly keep _both _of you out of his mind, so you could make him see reason. You could show him how foolish he's being."

Termaine's jaw clenched and he bit his lower lip, before he opened his mouth to speak, and was interrupted as Baara brought her massive, amethyst eye over to stare at Lealia. _Lealia, _she began with a soft tone after Lealia had allowed her into her mind, _we cannot help. This is a family matter, and we cannot interfere, even if we wanted too. You are his family, as much as Saphira and Firnen, and possibly even more so for you two will share every moment of the other's life. You must help him. You are the only one who can._

"But _how_?" Lealia had asked, tears nearly falling again, as the thought of failure washed over her again.

_Speak with him, _Baara had answered simply.

"He won't listen," Lealia had said, her tears finally falling, forcing her to look down. "He hasn't listened all week."

_Tell him what is in your heart, young one, and he _will _listen. He loves you. He will listen, but only to you, _Baara had said comfortingly.

"Listen to her, Lealia," Termaine had said, gripping her shoulder comfortingly. "She knows whereof she speaks. She has not led you astray." He then lifted up her head and looked at her with his kind eyes again. "Now don't cry. Tears should not mar a pretty face," he said, as he wiped her tears away in a fatherly manner, "Master Eragon would not have given you this task if he didn't think you could accomplish it, which means you _must _be able to."

Lealia had chewed on her lower lip, and then nodded slightly, turning away and walking back to the clearing where Benhail still laid. And then she had sat, contemplating ways to make Benhail listen to her, for hours, until the sun began to near the horizon, and she knew she would soon have to go and speak with Eragon, either admitting defeat or celebrating victory.

Finally, she stood and walked up to Benhail, opening her mouth to begin speaking, when his mind entered his. _Lealia, please, do not speak, _he said, his voice sounding incredibly tired. _You cannot make me forgive—_her—_she abandoned me, and nothing can make me forgive her, so please, just, don't speak._

This short speech finally drove Lealia over the edge. All of the frustration, and sadness that had building inside of her finally overcame her. Quietly growling a spell to strengthen and protect her arm, she stepped toward Benhail. He raised his head and looked at her questioningly, her anger most likely caring through their mental link. She quickly and hardly smacked Benhail across his jaw. She felt her strength drain as her arm moved with more strength then usual and kept her hand from being torn apart by his sharp scales.

Benhail gave a high, pained roar after Lealia had struck him and looked at her. _What was that for?_ he roared.

Lealia grabbed onto either side of his jaws and forced him to look her in the eyes. "_You can't forgive her?_" Lealia yelled at Benhail, with her voice and mind, causing his anger to disappear as hers overwhelmed it. "_Do you realize that if she hadn't given you up, you and I wouldn't be bond as a dragon and Rider?_" she continued, ignoring his surprise at the statement. "_We would never have met! I would never have come here! I wouldn't have you!_" she yelled, the last statement coming out as a sob as the thought rushed through her.

She looked at him, her anger quickly being replaced by a great deal of sadness. "Would you rather have had your mother caring for you from the moment you hatched, even if it meant that you wouldn't have me?" she asked. "Do you care so little for me, that you would give all of-of _this _up, just so you could have one more year to spend with your mother? Am I truly so unimportant, so awful, that you can't see that your mother gave you up because she wanted you to know what it felt like to have someone who would understand you, who would care about you, who would _love you _even when no one else would, just like she does?" Lealia lowered her eyes, letting go of Benhail's jaw, as she felt rivers of tears run down her face.

Benhail stared at her for a moment, dumbstruck, before he finally made a move. He spread his wings and enveloped Lealia in them, bringing her close to his chest, and embraced her mind with his own. _Lealia, how could you think these things? _He asked, his voice soft. _I would never give you up. _Never. _I love you. Nothing is more important to me than you. You must know that!_

"Then, why can't y-you for-forgive Saphira?" Lealia asked through her tears. "She only wanted you to be able to know what it is to be a bonded dragon. To have a Rider who will be there for you. She gave you up, suffered for more than a century without knowing what had happened to her first egg, and now her first lain child won't even speak to her, all because she wanted to give him the best life she could, does that seem right?"

Doubt washed through Benhail as he unfurled his wings from around Lealia. _Do you really think that's why she did it? _Benhail asked, his voice sounding smaller than it ever had.

Lealia nodded. "Eragon and I have spoken of it. He told me how hard it was for Saphira to let you go, but she did because she wanted you to have someone there for you even during the worst tragedies. He said that she didn't want you to ever have to be alone," Lealia told him softly, her sobs subsiding.

Benhail looked into the distance, looking as if he was trying to see beyond their reality.

Lealia put a hand on his shoulder and leaned her forehead on his scales. "I don't want you to have to be alone, either. I won't be able to see my parents for at least a decade unless Eragon allows me, and I don't want you to prolong the amount of time you will have without your mother. You'll regret it if you don't speak with her," she said.

Benhail looked down at her. _I-I still don't think I can forgive her, _he said, quietly, _not yet at least._

Lealia looked up into his flaming eyes. "You don't have to forgive her yet," she said, "just move on. Speak with her. Get to know her. And maybe, someday, you'll be able to forgive her for giving you up."

Benhail nodded, touching her gently on the forehead with his snout. _Very well, _he said softly, _I'll try. For you._

Now Lealia sat across from Eragon, who was smiling broadly at her. She saw Benhail and Saphira curled up next to each other out of the corner of her eye and couldn't help but smile. The two had been talking for many hours now, at first, it had been awkward, but they had soon begun to open up, and Benhail had decided to lie next to Saphira. Saphira had begun humming and had even curled a comforting wing around Benhail, which he at first shied from, but now leaned into.

"I have to congratulate you again, Lealia," Eragon said again, his voice filled with joy. "I've never seen a bonded dragon take to his mother again so quickly. Whatever it is that you said to him, it worked better than we could have ever hoped."

Lealia blushed at the praise and looked at the table. "I just told him what was in my heart. So, we will be able to train under you and Saphira?" Lealia asked, hopeful once more.

Eragon nodded enthusiastically. "Yes," he said, smiling at her again. "We will be able to start your training tomorrow, if you and Benhail find that fair, that is?"

Lealia smiled at him in return. "Yes. Yes I think that will be fine. I think that a little company might make Benhail and Saphira a little more comfortable around each other," she said.

Eragon looked at the pair of dragons fondly. "They seem quite comfortable right now," he said. "But I think you're right. Having a distraction will help those two."

Lealia looked at the dragons, too. She could feel Benhail's growing contentment. She even felt as he leaned into Saphira and hummed happily. She smiled, happy for Benhail finding his mother and happy that they wouldn't have to leave the people that Lealia was quickly starting to consider as a part of her family.

**Okay, sorry about the long break. I hope you all enjoyed this. And **


	6. Swordplay

**A/N: Seeing as very little time has passed between this and my last post, I don't have much to say here. Thank you all for the reviews and I hope you enjoy this chapter. **

**Disclaimer: *I object!* *Your objection is denied! Again!* *Your denial of my objection is denied!* *You can't do that!* *Well, you can't please your wife!* *That is extremely offensive, and irrelevant! If you make another comment of the same type I will have you forcibly removed from this courtroom!* *Your wife didn't want me removed last night!* *That's it! Bailiff, remove this man!* *I will win this case!* *That is highly unlikely!* *Screw you!* I don't own the **_**Inheritance Cycle**_**, but that judge seriously couldn't please his wife. *Enough!* **

Swordplay

Lealia woke extremely early the day after she had convinced Benhail to reconcile with Saphira. She had barely been able to sleep because she was so excited that she would finally be able to start learning under Eragon. She almost jumped out of her bed and walked out of the large cave that she shared with Benhail. Though it was obviously naturally formed, the inside of the cave had been polished by someone, and a desk, bed, and nightstand had been carved gracefully out of the stone. With the soft light of the flameless lantern and small personal possessions that Lealia had brought with her from Ellesmera, she had been able to make the cave feel quite homey, and she was thankful for it, because it meant she could sleep near Benhail.

She looked over at the massive pile of copper scales and saw the slight movements that told her Benhail was still fast asleep, and, as Lealia looked out of the entrance to their cave, she saw that the sun was barely visible through the valley between the blue and green mountains. Lealia thought about using a spell to move herself to the ground about two hundred feet below them, but then decided to wait for Benhail to wake instead.

She sat for what felt like an eternity, though she suspected it was less than an hour, before Benhail's breathing increased and his eyes opened groggily. _Good morning, _he thought to her, his mental voice sounding just as groggy as he looked.

_Good morning to you, as well, _she thought, feeling a little impatient. _Now get up, will you. I'm quite ready to go._

Benhail cocked his head and surprise and a little amusement spread from him across their mental link. _Well, what are you so impatient for? _he asked, a slight mental chuckle coming across their link. _It's not as if the others will be at the training area, yet, _he continued, correctly guessing the reason for her impatience. _I doubt even Master Eragon will be there, at this hour._

_I know, _Lealia snapped, on edge now, even though she had been excited all through the night. _But I don't want to look like an idiot when I get there late, so can we please go._

Benhail chuckled. _I'm sure Eragon and the others won't think any less of you if we're a little late. _Lealia made no comment, but simply scowled, looking down. Benhail walked up to her and ruffled her hair with a blast of warm air from his nostrils. _At least get something to eat first…you'll regret it if you don't, _he added after seeing her face.

Lealia debated this, chewing on her lower lip as she did, until she finally consented. She then climbed onto Benhail's shoulders, and he then swiftly glided to the ground below them. She quickly leaped off his back and walked beside him to the large kitchen near the center of Abr Du Hjarta. Once there she saw that a number of other Riders were seated at the large stone tables scattered throughout the clearing, since the space was too large for a building to house it all, eating light breakfasts that had been prepared by a group of cooks in the graceful main building of the kitchen. She walked up to a dwarf who was shouting orders to a human cook behind him and waited until the dwarf handed her a stone platter with a genial smile. She then walked to an empty stone table and picked at her food, much too nervous to actually eat much of it.

She looked to her right when she heard the scrape of a stone chair beside her and looked over to see Delmon seated beside her, his shoulders only just reaching the top of the table with his platter on it. He looked down at the short legs of his chair and muttered, "Reisa," causing the stone below him to rise up, pushing his chair up slightly so he could sit more comfortably. Lealia had seen him do this before, knowing the ground was enchanted so that the Riders could change the height of their seating as needed, seeing as their heights differed so greatly.

Delmon took a bite of his food in silence, and didn't look at Lealia until he had swallowed the mouthful, but when he did, he smiled up at her. "Are you ready for your first day of training under Master Eragon?" he asked her happily, and then chuckled when her skin must have paled slightly. "Don't be nervous," he said. "Master Eragon is a very good teacher, and he won't have you do much today."

Then Delmon's face darkened and he continued, "But be careful around Faustus. He may get better as time goes on, but when you first meet him, he can be a little, uh, competitive…or he can be a complete prick," Delmon muttered, more to himself than Lealia. Lealia chuckled at what Delmon said, but he looked at her seriously. "Don't laugh," he warned. "Faustus has been with Master Eragon the longest, and I suppose that makes him feel entitled or something to that effect, because it usually takes him a great deal of time to _tolerate _other apprentices."

Lealia looked at him. "I'm sure Master Eragon can keep him under control," Lealia stated, a little worried now.

Delmon gave a harsh laugh. "Oh, he stops him from doing anything terrible, but Faustus is clever, and he knows ways to heckle you without doing anything Master Eragon will look down upon," the dwarf said matter-of-factly, and then snorted. "Truthfully, I suspect he would do more if it weren't for Zipporah and her keeping his pride at a reasonable level."

Lealia and Delmon ate in silence for a short time, until she final said quietly, "Well, thank you for warning me."

She looked over to see Delmon blushing slightly, and hear him mutter, "It was nothing."

Wanting to learn just how far behind her fellow apprentices Lealia was, she asked, "How long has Faustus been with Master Eragon to feel the way he does?"

Delmon chuckled, probably guessing why she had asked. "Faustus has been learning under Master Eragon for nearly three years, and Shafeeq and I both began learning under him about a year after Faustus. I'm guessing he just got used to being able to learn everything without worrying about any other students, and he loathed giving that up. You don't have to worry though, Master Eragon is very skilled at teaching multiple subjects at one time. You won't be left out, or expected to learn all we have in a very short time."

I nodded feeling better and sat in comfortable silence with Delmon until the table shook and I looked up to see Shafeeq seated across from me. He muttered a word in the ancient language and his seat sank into the ground do he could comfortably sit at their table. He looked at Lealia with concern in his yellow eyes and asked, "How are you? Nervous?"

Lealia nodded, while saying, "Yes, but Delmon has put my mind at rest, for the most part, at least."

Shafeeq nodded, but the concern remained in his eyes. "Just don't worry about anything, we'll be sure nothing—and no _one_—affects your training today," he said earnestly.

Lealia felt a smile spread across her face and she nodded. "Thank you, but I'll be fine. I can handle anything—or any_one_—that may try to affect my training. You don't need to worry," she said, still smiling.

Shafeeq pursed his lips, which seemed to relieve some of the roughness of his face, and simply nodded, though he didn't seem convinced.

The three continued to talk about inconsequential things, which all help Lealia calm down, until Shafeeq and Delmon stood saying, "It's almost time for lessons, so we should really get going."

Lealia nodded and followed the Urgal and dwarf as her nervousness began to return. She felt her hands beginning to shake and forced herself to look at the blade she had belted at her waist while Benhail was sleeping. Lealia looked at the long, gently curving scabbard, while resting her hand on the blades pommel, feeling the sharp facets of the orange citrine set into it. Her nerves refused to dissipated, though, and she began to fidget, loosening her sword in its sheathe accidentally, and even pulling the blade out an inch or two, generating a dull scraping noise.

Delmon turned to look at her after hearing the noise, and saw her fidgeting with her blade. "Calm down, Lealia," he said with a genial smile. "Nothing is going to happen. Everything will be fine."

Lealia nodded and forced herself to smile, though she suspected it didn't convince Delmon. She forced herself to let go of her blade, and walk forward without fidgeting.

The three companions finally reached a large, clear field, where their dragons all landed. There were only two figures on the field and they were moving too quickly for Lealia to follow. Lealia was shocked to hear the discordant din of metal on metal as the two figures fought furiously, until with an awe-inspiring amount of grace, the taller of the two figures seemed to slip around their opponent's blade and flicked the blade up to their throat. Without realizing it, Lealia began to clap enthusiastically, causing the two figures to jump and look in the companions' direction. The figures walk toward them, until Lealia could make out the faces of Eragon and Faustus, the latter of whose face was flushed with embarrassment at his defeat.

"That was incredible!" Lealia exclaimed. She had spared against many elves, but she had only seen Arya match the swordsmanship that Eragon and Faustus had demonstrated.

Eragon smiled in recognition of the compliment, but Faustus just scowled. "Thank you," Eragon said, than looked at the blade at her waist and nodded. "I'm glad to see you brought your sword. It's a true Rider's sword, is it not?" he asked.

Lealia nodded. "Rhunon finished the alterations the day before I left Ellesmera," she said.

Eragon nodded, and then looking at it, asked, "And what, may I ask, is your blades name?"

Lealia looked down, blushing, because she had always been embarrassed by the name she had chosen when she renamed the blade, but answered anyway. "It is named Eyddrhjarta."

Eragon cocked his head to the side, obviously understanding the words of the ancient language, but didn't comment on them. She had named it that because the day she had received the blade was also the day she learned that her mother had died of a grave illness. She had felt so broken hearted that she the moment she saw the blade, she burst into tears thinking that somehow the gods were making her pay to receive such a noble gift, and had named it to remind her of the pain she had felt when she first received the weapon.

Eragon stepped forward and asked, "May I see it?" holding out his hand. After a moment's hesitation, Lealia unsheathed the sword and presented it to her master, hilt first. He took and inspected the blade. It was roughly three feet long from cross guard to tip and gently curved up its entire length. It had only a single edge, and its tip was slightly weighted so Lealia could better sever limbs. Rhunon had seemed surprised when Lealia had first told her how she fought, but after a demonstration, agreed that it was the best shape for her.

Eragon tested the flexibility of the blade, the sharpness of the tip, and even the keenness of its edge before return the blade to Lealia. "It's a splendid weapon, but I need to know proficient you are with it before I can begin your instruction in swordplay," he said, sounding more serious than usual.

Lealia nodded and began to flow through a number of the forms that she had learned during her sparring sessions with Arya.

"No, no, no," Lealia heard Eragon say. "I can't help unless I know exactly how well you can fight. Come," he said as he beckoned with his hand.

Lealia hesitated, looking at Delmon and Shafeeq who both smiled at her encouragingly, and Faustus who was looking at her intensely, though not with hostility. Lealia followed Eragon toward the center of the field, and then stood facing him, after the two had blocked the edge of their blades, with her blade in a defensive stance. The two began to circle each other, just as Lealia and Arya had when they sparred, when Lealia rushed at Eragon, swinging her blade at his legs. His blade swiftly met hers in a shower of sparks and a clear metallic peal.

Lealia quickly brought her blade up, intending to slash Eragon's arm, but with a flick of his wrist, Eragon smacked her blade away from him. He then struck back, aiming at her ribs and slipped easily past her guard, but stopped the blade before it actually touched her. He then jumped back as Lealia struck at his shoulder, and then began to defend himself as Lealia put him under a fierce onslaught of blows, though she suspected he was having no trouble keeping up with her. As she struck at Eragon repeatedly, Lealia noticed that his eyes seemed to take in everything she did, and he seemed to guess what she would do before she did it. Even in the heat of battle, Lealia felt herself blush at the attention that she was getting from Eragon, and she failed to notice her guard slip until she felt the cold steel of Eragon's blade at her throat.

He stepped back, and looked her over for a moment before smiling and saying, "You are very skilled, but you need to pay more attention. You can't just strike at your enemy, you must wait for an opening and take it, or you will become far too tired too quickly."

Lealia nodded dumbly, still feeling the cold steel at her throat, when she remembered that Arya had often told her many of the same things. She was about to speak when she heard soft footfalls coming up behind her. She turned to see Faustus walking toward them, his face set with a strange emotion.

He didn't look at Lealia as he walked up, but bowed to Eragon saying, "Master, I would test my new peer, as well, if you find that acceptable."

Eragon looked at him for a long while, and Lealia saw Shafeeq and Delmon walk up as well, worried looks on their faces. Eragon continued to stare at Faustus until he finally nodded, though he still looked at Faustus with an odd, searching expression.

Faustus then looked at Lealia, and asked in a voice colored with an emotion that Lealia couldn't quite place, "What do you say, Lealia? Will you consent?"

She looked at him, as well, searching his face, but she found none of the usual contempt there, or anger, or any other emotions, but his eyes burned with an emotion that set Lealia's heart a flutter, for some reason. Finally, after a long moment, Lealia nodded, though Shafeeq and Delmon were shaking their heads vigorously.

She looked at them and said determinedly, "It's okay. I can handle this."

They both looked at her uncertainly, but after a moment, they walked away from the sparring space. Faustus drew his blade for the first time and Lealia got her first good look at it. The blade was a shimmering light blue, and at times looked almost white, but its shape was what caught Lealia's attention the most. The blade was barely wider than her thumb, except for about a foot above the cross guard, which she suspected was maybe as thick as both of her thumbs. She could also tell by the way that Faustus held the sword, that he mainly used it for thrusting.

Faustus blocked his blade, which told Lealia that, even with its thin blade, it still had an edge, and then got into a ready stance. Lealia also stood ready, and the two began to circle each other, just as Lealia and Eragon had a moment ago. Lealia was more wary this time, both because of her defeat at Eragon's hand and because of the strange fire in Faustus' eye.

Faustus finally leaped toward Lealia, his blade a bright flash as he struck at her ribs. Lealia barely had time to block the blow, and felt her arm shake from the force of it. She was shocked at Faustus' ferocity, but had no time to think about it as Faustus spun and slashed at her Lealia's legs. Once again, she parried, but only barely, and her arm already burned from the force of Faustus' blows.

Faustus' neck blow came for her neck, and Lealia only just ducked under the slash, and, at this, her shock and surprise turned to fury, as she knew that Faustus' last attack could have been fatal if it landed. With a feral growl, Lealia struck at Faustus breast, but he easily knocked her blade away. From that point onward, Lealia lost track of the battle as she and Faustus traded blows and weaved around one another. Her anger soon dissolved as she saw that strange light in Faustus' eye again, and the way he seemed to see something in her that she couldn't. A heat rose in Lealia as she looked at Faustus, one that was not anger, happiness, hatred, or any other emotion she could remember feeling before, and with it came a determination to defeat Faustus, though not for a reason of spite or pride.

She began to press Faustus, actually forcing him back, and as she did she saw the light in Faustus' eyes become more intense, and he began to fight back with as much ferocity as Lealia did. Then Lealia saw Faustus' guard slip, and struck at his breast, stopping the blade so only the point was touching him, but even as she did, she felt a cold point at her neck. She looked down and saw Faustus' blade at her neck, just as hers touched his chest. Lealia looked up into Faustus' eyes once more, and saw the emotion shine bright for just a moment before it disappeared, and he stepped back, saying quietly, "You'll do."

Lealia heard cheering behind her and looked to see Delmon and Shafeeq run up to her, with Eragon smiling widely behind them.

"That was amazing!" Delmon exclaimed. "I've never seen a new Rider fight like that!"

Lealia blushed and decided not to tell him that she had been training in swordplay under Arya for nearly a year.

"Why didn't you tell us you could fight like that?" Shafeeq exclaimed, his face split in a massive grin. "I wouldn't have worried if I had known!"

"I didn't know it myself," Lealia muttered. She hadn't. She had never succeeded in besting an elf before, and she still didn't know how she had against a swordsman as skilled as Faustus. She looked at him and saw that he was still looking at her with a new, studying expression.

Eragon finally stepped up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder while grinning down at her. Lealia felt herself blush and looked at the ground so she could hide it. "It seems that I won't have to search for a sparring partner for you, after all!" he exclaimed, drawing a questioning look from Lealia.

He smiled at her still and elaborated, "I don't have the time to spar with all of you, at least not one on one, so you need a sparring partner. I had hoped you could give Faustus a proper fight, seeing as Shafeeq and Delmon aren't exactly the best warriors for him to spar with," Lealia then looked at the two warriors and saw that Shafeeq had a massive battle-axe belted at his waist, while Delmon had a war hammer belted at his and Lealia understood. The weapons weren't going to help Faustus much because they wouldn't provide him a sparring partner with the necessary finesse.

Lealia looked back at Eragon and saw the smile still plastered on his face, and the eyes that were looked on her, and she felt a strange stirring in her chest. She flushed once again, and looked down, acutely aware of Eragon's hand on her shoulder.

He chuckled, and stepped back from her, and Lealia felt a painful twinge in her chest when he did that she tried to suppress. She looked at him just as he began to speak. "I believe that it is time that we see how proficient a magician Lealia is, so unless you, Delmon and Shafeeq would like to spar, I would we begin the trials," he said.

Shafeeq and Delmon looked at each other, shrugged, and shook their heads.

"Good," Eragon said. "Then let us begin."

**Okay, that's it for this chapter. I've decided that it will take at least one more chapter for me to cover Lealia's first day of training. And now to cover a few points. Lealia was able to keep up with Faustus due to a burst of adrenaline. I just wanted to say that now, so no one is confused as to how she was able to start keeping up with him, and I figured that a Rider could have any weapon that they felt comfortable with, not just a sword, which is why Delmon and Shafeeq use a hammer and ax respectively. So, that's it, I hope you enjoyed this long chapter. **


	7. The Tower

**A/N: Okay, sorry for the delay between chapters, but with my friends, honors classes, and the family troubles, I can never seem to get out more than one chapter every week or two, so sorry. With that, thank you all for the reviews and here comes the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of made by CP, unless you're from a parallel universe where I own everything, in which case, you better get back to work! I'm totally serious, too! Parallel me will torture you with Rebecca Black if you don't make your Gummi Bear crop quotas, 'cause in that universe, everyone harvest's Gummi Bears! **

The Tower

Lealia followed Eragon and her fellow apprentices as they travelled to a large stone building on the outskirts of the training field. Lealia stared at the tall, imposing tower of midnight-black stone nervously. Her steps began to slow and shorten unconsciously as her trepidation increased. The tower didn't seem inherently malevolent, but Lealia could feel an almost tangible amount of power coming from the tower, as if it were the heart of the magic of Abr Du Hjarta.

Finally overcome by her nervousness, Lealia asked, "Master, what is that place?"

Eragon looked back at her, and seemed surprised by how far she had fallen behind the small party. He turned his attention back to the tower and said, "That tower, along with the five mountains surrounding Abr Du Hjarta, is the reason I decided that the Riders and dragons would settle here. That tower was already built when the elves, Saphira and I discovered this land, and, since that time, I have studied it with a great deal of interest. It was the only unnatural structure in this entire area, and was built in the exact midpoint between these five mountains."

He paused and looked back at her, a glimmer in his eyes and a smile on his face. "Even with my many years of study, I have learned very little about the tower. The only secrets I have successfully forced out of it are that it is made of some of the purest diamond I have ever seen, has been enchanted, though what those enchantments do or cause are still unknown to me, and it seems to be a nexus of magic, as if all the magic of the land springs from it. I have not even succeeded in learning its name. That said, it has allowed myself and other spell weavers to augment our abilities, and I have found it helpful to gramarye in its presence, though many of the Elders do not share my view," he said.

Lealia nodded, and asked, "Why don't they agree, Master?"

Eragon cocked his head to the side, and looked off into the distance. "They believe that the energy that comes from this tower is corrupted. They are under the impression that the enchantments acting upon it bring out the worst energies possible, and could create beings similar to a Shade," he said, then chuckled. "Some of them are so set in this belief that they have recommended that the Riders find a new settlement. I myself believe that they under the wrong impression, and that the tower is only a store house of great powers, that could be detrimental, but only to those of weak constitutions."

Lealia gulped. She looked at the tower again, and the way that its sharp facets seemed to shine when the sunlight never touched them sent a shiver down her spine. She could understand the Elders' fear of the tower, for the tower's presence seemed to both strengthen and weaken her. She could feel her body thrum with more energy than she had ever felt before, but she also felt like her consciousness became more fragile the longer she stood near the tower. She almost stepped away from her place near the tower, but held her ground, feeling a strange rebelliousness, as if the tower was conscious and wanted her to run, and she would be damned before she let that happen.

She looked at Eragon as he asked, "Would you prefer to move for your test?"

Lealia hesitated, unsure of how to answer. She was afraid to perform any magic in the atmosphere of the strange powers coming from the tower, but she also was loathed to lower herself in Eragon's esteem. She looked at the tower, and the strange shine from its walls seemed to be mocking her, telling her to run, to find a safe place to perform this test, to stay within the usual bonds of magic work, to not push her limits, to not find out exactly what she could do! Lealia's fear of the tower was replaced at that moment, and replaced instead by a burning hatred, a hatred which strengthened her hold on her sanity, and forced her to growl, "No. No, I want to do it here."

Lealia felt them all look at her strangely, wondering at her inexplicable anger, but she didn't care as she stared at the tower.

"Good," Eragon said, and when Lealia looked at him again and saw that he was smiling, as if he understood her anger. "Very good. We will begin immediately, then!"

Eragon strode toward the entrance to the tower and beckoned for Lealia to enter. As she walked toward it, her companions followed until Eragon raised a hand and exclaimed, "No!" Shafeeq, Delmon, and Faustus all stopped, and Lealia looked back at the three. None of them seemed surprised, but they did look put out.

"You all know that your trials must be done alone," Eragon continued in calmer, but just as firm, voice. "A person's first time in the tower can be…strange and too many people can make the experience quite…unpleasant."

The three Riders shivered, obviously remembering their own experiences in the strange structure. Lealia gulped, and, feeling her resolve waver, quickly stepped through the entrance to the tower.

Lealia gasped after she had fully passed through the threshold. She felt as if her body was both burning and freezing at the same time because of the dense energy surrounding her. She couldn't even move for what felt like an eternity, but was more likely only a matter of seconds, because of the thick atmosphere of power. Finally, though, she was able to force one foot what she thought was the center. The inside of the tower was pitch black, and made its strange atmosphere all the more disconcerting.

Lealia heard footsteps behind her and turned in the direction they came from. She gasped when she did, because she saw walking toward her a figure that seemed to be engulfed by bright, sapphire flames. She stepped back and tripped over her own feet, falling onto the hard ground of the dark room.

The figure quickly stepped toward her and offered her a bright, flaming hand. Lealia shrunk from the being, and whimpered. Lealia felt a sense of comfort emanate from the being, and felt the familiar touch of Eragon's mind. _You needn't fear, Lealia, _his voice spoke in her head, and seemed to echo through the strange room, _it is me. Please, give me your hand, and we can begin._

Lealia hesitated for a moment, and then extend her arm toward the flaming appendage before her. She nearly screamed when she did, for her arm was engulfed in flames of the brightest copper. _Do not worry Lealia,_ Eragon's said. _You are fine. Just stand up and I shall explain what is happening._

Lealia did as she was told, and looked down at her body to see that her entire body was engulfed in flames. Lealia forced herself to look up at Eragon, her body shaking and attempted to ask what was happening, but when she opened her to speak, no words would come from her throat. _You can speak in nothing but the ancient language in here, Lealia, _Eragon told her. _If you wish to speak, I suggest you think your questions._

Lealia nodded and did just that. _Master, _she thought, _what is going on? What is this place doing to us?_

Her voice quickly became hysterical, and Lealia began to hyperventilate. She hated appearing weak in front of Eragon, but she could stop herself. The environment of the tower was so alien, that she felt true, unadulterated fear for the first time in her life. Eragon could obviously tell this because he immediately sent calming, comforting feelings across their link and helped to force her fear into submission.

After Lealia had calmed, Eragon told her, _You needn't be afraid, Lealia, this sight is not malevolent._ _For whatever reason, the tower allows those inside of it to see the life forces of other beings. This causes no damage to those seeing in this way; it is simply a byproduct of the tower's power._ Eragon moved and said, _Now come, we must begin. We can risk remaining in here only so long._

Lealia followed the flaming shape of her master as he walked toward the far edge of the room. He turned around and looked at Lealia, and as he did, the flames around his body seemed spread until a withering inferno seemed to encase Eragon. From this withering inferno, Eragon's voice rang forth, sounding unnaturally loud, as he said, "Vakna!"

The strange call confused Lealia until she felt her senses come to life as never before. She could feel each of the hairs on her body moving separately as a gentle breeze wafted through the room. She could hear the breeze as if it were the angry roar of some massive beast. When she looked the wall of the chamber, she found that she could not just see in the darkness, but also make out each minute imperfection in the diamond wall, and she found that, when she breathed in she smelt a strange, unfamiliar scent, and it took her a moment to realize they must have come from the diamond walls. She turned back to Eragon, whose strange aura of flames had returned to their original state and asked in the ancient language, "What have you done to me, Master?"

Lealia could sense Eragon's amusement at her awed voice as he answered, "I have awakened you to the world around you. Now look down for a moment Lealia, and you may see another reason I brought you here for this test."

Lealia's confusion at this request was short lived as she looked down at herself. She looked over her entire, flame wrapped form until she rested her eyes on her chest. She saw a strange disturbance there and, upon closer inspection, saw a thin strand of a strange, flickering blue substance that connected with her chest. She followed the strand back to its source, now able to clearly make it out, and saw it attached to Eragon's hand. "What is it, Master?" she asked, still in the ancient language.

Lealia saw the flames on his face flicker and suspected that he had smiled. "That, my dear, is magic." Apparently, Eragon sensed her confusion because he then elaborated saying, "This strange of energy is a sign of my continuation of the spell, and allows me to see how much energy I am using to fuel it, and whether I am wasting energy. As you can see, I am not. Now, can you guess why this would be helpful for your instruction?"

Lealia nibbled on her lip as she thought, and then answered, "You can see, not just how proficient I am at casting spells, but also how skilled I am at conserving energy and what my spells are acting upon."

Eragon nodded. "Exactly," he said, "but I can also see how your spells work, for your spells will change the energy to better suit your needs for each spell, and by this, I can infer how you link your spells with your words and how you subconsciously and consciously chose to use magic."

Lealia nodded in return, though she didn't completely understand how that worked, and then asked, "So, why 'awaken me to the world around me'?"

Eragon chuckled, and then answered, "So _you _can see how your spells work; now enough of this talk, we must begin." Eragon then took on a more serious air, commanding, "Lift this rock from my hand," as he drew a small stone from where his pocket likely was.

Lealia did as she was told, proclaiming, "Stenr risa!" The stone shook, but did not move as a rope of coppery energy grabbed it and pulled on it. This confused Lealia until she saw thin strands of sapphire flame holding tight to the rock. Lealia didn't understand this until she realized that Eragon likely wanted to learn her level of strength, so she increased the power of the spell, causing the rope to thicken until it was nearly as thick as her forearm. The stone jerked out of Eragon's hand and immediately rested in the air a foot above his hand in a cradle of flames.

The flames on Eragon's face shook as he smiled and said, "Good, now I want you shape the stone until it is a sphere."

Lealia nodded, a little tired from the energy she had been forced to use to raise the stone. To make her task easier, she used the spell to bring the stone nearer to her, when it was ten feet from her a ray of blue flames pushed firmly on her copper flames. "No closer, I want to see how well you can perform spells from a distance," Eragon said firmly.

Lealia nodded and answered, "Yes, Master." And then "Stenr moi!" Lealia marveled as the flames seemed to change before her, becoming more liquid as they melded with the stone, and then began to shift as the stone was quickly molded into a smooth sphere.

After a number of seconds, Eragon proclaimed, "That's good. Now, please send me the stone."

Lealia did as she was told once again. When Eragon had the stone in his hands, he inspected it closely. "Almost completely free of imperfections," he stated at last, looking up at Lealia. "You have a good eye for detail. I think you may have even given it a small engraving…yes, yes it's right here." Lealia blushed at the praise, happy for the flames covering her face.

The without warning Eragon exclaimed, "Now catch!" and used a spell she couldn't hear to send the stone hurtling toward her. It stop propelling the stone at her when half the distance to her was covered, but the stone hurtled at her as fast as a diving hawk, giving her only enough time to proclaim, "Letta!" A dense ray of flames came up and caught the stone, holding it tight. And pushing on it to stop its forward movement.

Lealia sagged with unexpected fatigue at the amount of energy needed to stop the speeding rock. "Good," she heard Eragon say. "Very good. You have exceptional reflexes, though that was obvious from your fight with Faustus, now you can set down the stone, we are done with it for now."

Lealia happily obliged him. She groaned inwardly as he said, "Now…" and the testing continued.

Eragon had her do a great deal in their time together. He had her shape a small amount of water that he had brought, freeze it, and even compress it until it was nearly as dense as the stone on the ground. He then had her create and manipulate fire, and even had her melt a small amount of sand into glass with it. He then had her manipulate the air to create a vacuum, which she found surprisingly hard, and generate a beam small light inside of the vacuum, so that only a single sliver escaped the empty space. Lealia found this exceedingly complicated, and the tests only continued to increase in complexity, until Eragon asked her to manipulate gravity so the stone before them floated in a circle with a three-foot radius and then would be brought crashing down if it went out of it. The tests then began to blend together to her, until Eragon finally proclaimed, "I believe that is enough, my dear."

Lealia could only give a small nod as she panted. She was utterly spent, even the flames around her body had shriveled so that they stood only just off of her skin, and her body could actually be seen through them. Eragon looked at her with concern and a sliver of his sapphire energy moved toward her. It melded itself with the flames around her body, and she felt energy rush into her body. She watched as the flames covering her body increased in size, and those around Eragon shrunk slightly.

The energy then stopped running into Lealia, but she felt much better, though not quite as good as when she had entered the tower. Eragon sighed, then, and said, "I'm sorry that this was necessary Lealia, but I need to know how skilled you are at gramarye, and I believe I have a good idea of your proficiency."

After taking one more deep gulp of air, Lealia asked, "And what might my proficiency be, Master?"

Eragon smiled. "You are an exceptional spellweaver," he said, but then his smile wilted slightly, "but you use more energy than necessary at times. I know what these tasks cost, and I can guess at your store of power, so your exhaustion didn't have to happen. You would have been fatigued, but not on the point of passing out."

Lealia frowned. She had never realized this, and she didn't exactly know if that was true, but she remembered the way that she had yanked the stone from Eragon's hand and the way she had used extremely dense flames to catch the stone. She silently berated herself for this and promised that she would do better.

This brought back Eragon's full smile. "I expected as much, but you needn't worry. We have much time for you to learn control," he said, then motioned toward the door to the room, continuing. "Now let us leave this place and go rest. Arya informed me of how far you had come in your education on the other topics of your training, so there are no more of your abilities that I must test."

Lealia smiled. The sparring and spell casting had been hard on her, and she was happy to be free of the burden of these tests. She followed Eragon out of the door and was quickly accosted by Delmon and Shafeeq, though Faustus stayed back, simply giving her a nod and following Eragon as he strode off.

"Are you okay?" Shafeeq asked, looking into her face with concern.

"I'm fine," Lealia said, making the shift back to her native language.

"How did you do?" Delmon asked, seeming unusually worried. "You didn't screw anything up, did you?"

"No," Lealia answered. "I did well enough, I think."

The two looked at each other uncertainly. "Are you sure?" Shafeeq asked, trying to cover up the unconvinced note in his voice.

Lealia sighed with annoyance. "Yes I'm sure," she said, becoming aggravated by her friends as they continued to pry. They continued to walk, finally asking what had occurred in the tower, which she talked of enthusiastically as a way to escape their concerned inquiries.

She then heard the thud of dragons' wings and saw Benhail, Saphira, and the other dragons flying swiftly toward them. Lealia felt first joy and then embarrassment as she saw Benhail approach. She had been so preoccupied by her nervousness that she hadn't even noticed that he had left after her breakfast.

Benhail landed with the others and walked with the group. Lealia saw Arioch nip at his tail as he walked behind Benhail and Benhail flicked it up, smacking Arioch in the jaw. Lealia heard the growling laugh of Elhanan as Arioch yelped slightly and growled at Benhail, jumping at him. Benhail, jumped out of the way and growled at Arioch as he landed, getting into a low crouch. Arioch turned around and did the same. The two dragons started to circle each other, their teeth bared as they growled at each other. Elhanan chuckled again, Zipporah rolled her large eyes, and Saphira turned around with a huff and growled at the two males. They looked at her with large, innocent eyes that nearly made Lealia laugh, and then turned and walked after the three other dragons, pushing against each other good-naturedly.

Benhail parted from Arioch and smiled wolfishly at Lealia. She felt his mind brush her own and asked, _So how was your day?_

_It was fine,_ she answered, surprised by Benhail's tone. _What was that about?_

Benhail's grin widened as he said, _It was nothing, just some harmless fun._

Lealia looked at him. _Have you and Arioch been fighting?_

Surprise emanated from Benhail. _Of course not!_ He exclaimed. _Elhanan, Arioch, and I have been doing that all day, yes, but it was just harmless fun. _

Lealia studied Benhail, not believing him, until it dawned on her, what she had just seen. She remembered the play fights the puppies of her home had had and understood that Benhail and Arioch had just been doing the same. She laughed lightly, happy that Benhail had made friends, and then scolded him half-heartedly, _Don't do that. You must have been driving Saphira mad!_

Benhail snorted. _Hardly, _he said. _She only got annoyed when we interrupted her. It was Zipporah that really disliked it. She nearly bit my tail off when we were flying home. She kept telling us that she would roast us like pigs if we didn't stop._ Benhail smiled wolfishly again, and looked at the dragoness out of the corner of his eye. _She probably would have if Saphira weren't there. She can have _quite _the temper._

Lealia chuckled, and said, _You should be nicer to her._

_ I was very nice to her, _Benhail complained. _She just didn't like the way I went about it._

_ Oh, and how exactly did you go about it? _Lealia asked, raising an eyebrow.

_I may have brought her half of a deer I caught when we went hunting, _Benhail said, averting his eyes, _and it may have been the back end. And when she said she didn't want it I might have said, 'well, maybe you want to bite mine, then.'_

Lealia laughed, besides herself. _You shouldn't have said that! _Lealia exclaimed. _No wonder she's so mad at you!_

_ She's not mad at me, not after she forced my head in a pile of Elhanan's handy work and told me to bite that,_ Benhail said, and bowed his head. _And blame the others! They all enjoyed it, and it's not like Saphira tried to stop it!_

_ Did she know about any of it? _Lealia asked.

_Well, no, _admitted Benhail. _But that's beside the point! _

Lealia chuckled, and smiled as she and Benhail continued to talk about their days.

Later that night, after Lealia had bathed and eaten supper, she sat at the opening to their cave and looked out at the black tower in the distance. It was a massive specter in the light coming from the buildings of Abr Du Hjarta, and seemed almost like a monarch watching them. The tower inspired equal parts fear and awe in Lealia as she looked at it, and one question persisted in her mind:

What was this strange and powerful tower? 

**Okay, so that's the end of this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. Once again, sorry for the long wait. **


	8. Author's Note

**A/N: Hello, everyone, I'm sorry if you thought this was a chapter, but it's not. Thank you all for your patience waiting for the next chapter, and I am sorry it has taken so long for me to update, but I am even more sorry for what I must tell you next. I am discontinuing both of my stories. I have hit a wall with both of them and cannot figure out how I want to go on with them. On top of that, I wish to work on some other projects and I would like to put as much of my energy into them as possible, and I cannot do that if I am worrying about these stories. Once more, I would like to apologize for the long delay and this news, but I feel that I need to do this. I hope all of you enjoyed these stories. **


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